NEWS&VIEWS by Jacqueline Bennett

Destination: Botticello Farms in the City of Village Charm

Posted on August 27, 2016

Write-Up & Photos by Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb.com

At a border of town, on 209 Hillstown Road, Botticello Farms is a perfect example of how Manchester, Connecticut got the nickname, “The City of Village Charm”. It all began with Butch Botticello selling vegetables in the front yard of his Hillstown Road home, as noted in a history of the farms. Still family owned today, Botticello Farms is the “last operating farm” in Manchester, operating since 1973.

Well-known locally, the Botticello name has remained a constant amidst changes that have moved Manchester towards more of a city and less of a village. “We grow our own” is the Botticello logo. Their farms serve wholesale and retail markets, not to mention every day folks who stop by their farm market.

Each season has something special to offer at Botticello Farms. From hanging baskets in spring to an array of summer vegetables and fruit currently available and grown on some 350 acres, much of which is just over the town line in Glastonbury. Freshly picked tomatoes, Italian sweet peppers, zucchini, onions, cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, lettuce and more. And don’t forget corn- on-the-cob! Botticello corn-on-the-cob is one of the treats of this time of year and so good.

With late September and October but a whisper away Botticello Farms will ready to transition from the heat of summer to the crisp days of autumn. Typically they offer pumpkins, gourds, corn stalks, hay, straw, mums apples, pears … Look too for homemade apple and pumpkin pies, as well as, apple cider from a “neighboring” locale.

Come the holidays Botticello Farms sells Christmas Trees, wreaths, poinsettias and kissing balls. During the winter they continue to serve the community selling sand and salt and with snowplowing and sanding.

Botticello Farms might best be described as an all-season experience helping a small city hold on to remnants of its ‘village charm’.